During the past three weeks. there has been a rounding-up of Communists in Ningpo. A mild form of martial law has been in force and armed patrols have been policing the streets night and day. To be out of doors after nine O'clock at night without a pass from the police office would put one in danger of arrest. A. special eom~ mission for the searching out and trial of suspected Communists has} een meeting every day. The atest reports state that over seventy arrests have been made; twenty-nine have been released, about twenty have been sent on to Hanghow as convicted Communists, and the remainder are languishing in the Ningpo prison, awaiting. further investigation, From the first, the rumour has been current that plans for an extensive Communist uprising in this part of the province had been discovered, but hitherto there has! been a curious lack either of in terest or excitement among the populace, In fact, a tendency has been discernible to' treat the whole affair very lightly and even to deprecate the activity of the authoritas a needless interference with a few harmless individuals holding extreme political views. Now, however, the reasons for the precautions and for the arrests made have een published in the local press, in the form of the full text of the Aiscovered Communist plot, If moroly a fraction of the revelations have a basis of truth, then the authorities are to be commended heartily for their promptness in successfully suppressing—what threatened to be a very serious. onsant uprising.
The Plot Leaks Out The report states that a military officer in Wenchow discovered the headquarters of the Communist party in that city and was success Sul in seizing papers containing a ist of the names and addresses of members in the whole of east Chekiang, together with the dot plans for a peasant uprising to take place on the 6th of the 11th moon. He immediately sent these papers to Hangchow and. the Provineial Government sent copies of the information to all the local the persons whose names were disclosed.
The text of the plot, which has been published in fallin the Ningpo papers, is a very long affair, not very clearly worded. As published, it appears to be a composite production taken from a great many:
ferent drafts of the same plot. The main points in the plot are given under three heads:—(1) to seize the authority in all the chief places in east Chekiang; (2) to kill landowners and gentry. burn all Innd deeds and distribute the land among the farmers; (3) to make arrangements for a general uprising on the fines of banditry. The places specifically mentioned are between Shangyu and Hsiangshan,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.